Breaking news

Polling reveals higher education policy dissatisfaction: union

The National Tertiary Education Union has carried out polling suggesting a big swing against the Federal Coalition because of its higher education policy.

The union carried out automated polling it says showed a significant swing against the Coalition in Gippsland.

A union spokesman, Colin Long, says if an election was held now, the sitting Member, Darren Chester, would lose, despite having the highest approval rate of the seats polled.

Mr Long says he is counting on the Senate to block the legislation that reduces funding to universities.

"Certainly the Greens and the ALP said that they don't support the changes and the Palmer Party has said a lot of the right things about higher education, in fact Clive Palmer's on record as supporting free higher education," he said.

Mr Chester says the polling gives a mixed result.

He says he is in touch with his Gippsland constituents every day and has spoken to the universities' network.

Mr Chester says the university administrators have told him they can work with the new policy.

"In the longer term they believe it will actually assist the university system to allow more kids from Gippsland, more young people from regional Australia, to actually achieve a university degree," he said.

"So look, I'm relaxed about the opinion polls.

"I'll be judged on my performance at the next federal election and that's the way it should be."